


This flop on the couch thing

by sloganeer



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-08
Updated: 2007-06-08
Packaged: 2017-10-06 03:31:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sloganeer/pseuds/sloganeer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rodney had this same kind of relationship with his cat. (The cat is named after a Canadian prime minister.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	This flop on the couch thing

Rodney's physicists have one giant crush on Sheppard. They're disgustingly cheerful when he comes to the labs to take Rodney to lunch, and if the Colonel wasn't so completely oblivious to the fawning and fluttering, Rodney might actually be jealous.

It's all for the best, really. If Sheppard noticed the physicists, he might notice Rodney, and maybe they wouldn't get to do whatever it is they were doing anymore.

The Colonel takes him to the mess hall for lunch most days. Ronon and Teyla join them sometimes, and Rodney keeps forgetting to eat just to see Sheppard swagger into his lab. His scientists really should be more appreciative.

On those rare days off, when Rodney works from his quarters instead of the lab, Sheppard joins him. Usually, he reads, quoting random passages from his spot on Rodney's bed because he knows it makes Rodney scowl. The Colonel has a great laugh, and he never laughs harder than when Rodney is annoyed with him.

Sometimes, he convinces Rodney to take a break. It doesn't take much, not when the Colonel is out of his uniform, and in those khaki pants that ride low on his hips and those long sleeve shirts that are tight in all the right places. Rodney lets him believe it's a challenge.

They pile on the uncomfortable Ancient couch, pull up the shared network on Rodney's laptop, and look for something they haven't seen yet. They've seen everything, of course. They do this flop on the couch thing a lot. They do it with Teyla and Ronon, too, and Sheppard calls it "team building." He also calls it "fun", Rodney calls it "cheesy", and Teyla and Ronon just watch while the two of them argue. Teyla's used to the fighting, but she still doesn't understand why people say he and Sheppard are best friends when they're always at each other's throats.

"It's an Earth thing," Sheppard explains. "We're not fighting, not really."

Rodney crosses his arms and sits stiff on the couch. "Speak for yourself, Colonel."

"Oh, give it up, McKay, and find us a movie to watch."

Rodney relents; he always does. Maybe that helps Teyla understand more than any explanation he or Sheppard could come up with.

This night, it's just the two of them. It's just the two of them more and more these days. Teyla is trying to spend more time with her people on the mainland, and Ronon isn't much for social activities. Rodney isn't either, when he's honest with himself, but Sheppard's different. He can just be with Sheppard without really thinking about it.

The problem happens when Rodney stops thinking all together. He gets up to raid his snack stash while the Colonel chooses the movie, and when Rodney flops back onto the couch, his feet end up in Sheppard's lap.

"Chocolate?" He rips open the foil, and breaks off a piece. Sheppard doesn't take the chocolate when it's offered, but opens his mouth, and Rodney scowls. "Just take it, Colonel."

He leans in, going for the piece in Rodney's fingers, but stealing the whole bar instead.

"I don't know why I put up with you." Rodney sighs, and pops the piece of chocolate into his mouth.

A car chase on the laptop screen catches both their attention with a sharp squeal of tires. With his stolen chocolate, and mindless action, Sheppard looks suitably distracted. His free hand comes down to Rodney's feet, and slides up to his calf. The car chase moves into a warehouse and a shoot out, but the Colonel's hand continues. Rodney swallows, holds his breath, and holds onto the moment before it's gone.

This thing that they do together, this flop on the couch thing, happens almost without their permission. Almost two years in Atlantis, and Rodney's pretty set in his ways. One of those ways is with Colonel Sheppard nearby. Rodney had this same kind of relationship with his cat. Except that he never had to worry about Lester B. running off and getting shot like he does with Sheppard.

Sheppard, who now has his hand up under Rodney's pant leg, and is stroking higher and higher. A shiver travels the rest of the way, where Sheppard can't touch. His eyes are on the screen, but Sheppard knows what he's doing. Those fingers are too purposeful to be doing anything else, and even over the gunshots and the hackneyed dialogue, he must be able to hear Rodney's shallow breathing. He must be able to feel the goosebumps, and he must be able to tell when Rodney sinks down into the couch.

When Rodney opens his eyes, Colonel Sheppard is smiling down at him.

"You wanna?"

A sound falls out of Rodney's mouth. It doesn't sound like an answer, and certainly not the "yes, yes" Rodney was shooting for. It doesn't matter because Sheppard knows, and his weight presses Rodney deeper into the couch and his kisses hold Rodney there until he shudders and shivers and yes, yes.


End file.
